Session
Subtheme
Organizer 1: Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 1: Jameson Voisin, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: David Eaves, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: CV Madhukar, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: David Eaves, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: CV Madhukar, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Format
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: This workshop is consultative in nature and therefore a Round Table format will enable the most practical format for discussions and feedback from all participants.
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: This workshop is consultative in nature and therefore a Round Table format will enable the most practical format for discussions and feedback from all participants.
Policy Question(s)
A. What are the key determinants of ensuring that a Unified Technology Stack becomes a trusted asset that can be leveraged by countries around the world?
B. While the private sector will continue to play an important role in the digitisation journeys of countries, what is the right code-of-conduct that will ensure that public value is maximised?
C. What lessons can we learn from other sectors about successful financial models to ensure that the global public good of the Unified Technology Stack is upgraded and well supported for decades to come?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants in this session will learn about the contours about the Unified Technology Stack, and how contributors from different parts of the world are enabling this revolution. Participant will also learn how governments and the private sector are embracing this approach of digital public infrastructure to reimagine their digitization efforts.
The workshop will encourage participants to share their ideas on how to build greater trust into this effort through an effective and inclusive governance mechanism. Participants will also share perspectives on how to evolve a code of conduct for all stakeholders, especially for the private sector, to ensure that public value is maximized.
SDGs
Description:
In 2024, countries around the world spent an estimated $800 billion on digitisation. Of this, 88% was spent by OECD countries. If the other 160 countries aspire to have the same level of digital maturity as these rich countries, the current model of silo digitization will bankrupt countries many times over. We need a fundamentally different imagination of how this will be done. Just as the internet and GPS have emerged as global public infrastructure assets that are leveraged by all countries, we need a shared and Unified Technology Stack that can make digitisation much smarter, and radically faster and cheaper. Driving down costs and time not only enables massive government savings but also lays the foundations for a tremendous leap in entrepreneurial innovation that positively impacts the people at the base of the pyramid. Fortunately, the collective work of many contributors over the past decade has created different aspects of such a Unified Tech Stack that can work at humanity scale. We are the cusp of scaling this approach that brings together open source contributors, private companies, and governments to re-set our approach to digitisation. To enable this, we need a new pact, a new code-of-conduct that imbues trust and transforms how countries digitise in the 21st century. This approach of using shared digital public infrastructure is the only way that can ensure a fairer digital future for all.
In 2024, countries around the world spent an estimated $800 billion on digitisation. Of this, 88% was spent by OECD countries. If the other 160 countries aspire to have the same level of digital maturity as these rich countries, the current model of silo digitization will bankrupt countries many times over. We need a fundamentally different imagination of how this will be done. Just as the internet and GPS have emerged as global public infrastructure assets that are leveraged by all countries, we need a shared and Unified Technology Stack that can make digitisation much smarter, and radically faster and cheaper. Driving down costs and time not only enables massive government savings but also lays the foundations for a tremendous leap in entrepreneurial innovation that positively impacts the people at the base of the pyramid. Fortunately, the collective work of many contributors over the past decade has created different aspects of such a Unified Tech Stack that can work at humanity scale. We are the cusp of scaling this approach that brings together open source contributors, private companies, and governments to re-set our approach to digitisation. To enable this, we need a new pact, a new code-of-conduct that imbues trust and transforms how countries digitise in the 21st century. This approach of using shared digital public infrastructure is the only way that can ensure a fairer digital future for all.
Expected Outcomes
The session will provide important inputs to the global and public launch of the Unified Technology Stack later in 2025. Prior to the launch such consultations will help make the idea more robust and acceptable to all stakeholders.
Hybrid Format: We have significant experience in facilitating hybrid sessions. Since all participants will be invited to make brief interventions, we expect active facilitation and switching between online and offline on a regular basis during the 90 min session.
We will also share slides and a discussion paper ahead of the Round Table so that participants have a good idea about the content and come prepared with their ideas.